Button



(NdMddeL) J. V. PILCHER.

' BUTTON.

110. 521,418. Patented June 12,l 18911.

WITNESSES, NVENTOR. KK

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J OI-IN V. PILOHER, OF LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY.

BUTTON.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 521,418, dated June 12, 1894.

Application filed April 16. 1894.

TowZZ whom t may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN V. PILCHER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Louisville, in the county of Jefferson and State of Kentucky, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Buttons; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to that class of buttons which are adapted to be attached to cloth without the aid of sewing, and the object of the invention is to provide a button with means: first, for penetrating the cloth to admit the shank, and, second, with means for automatically spreading the shank within the collet by the act of pressing the button head and shank together uponthe cloth.

To this end my invention consists in the construction and combination of parts forming a button, hereinafterdescribed and claimed,ref erence being had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure I, is a vertical section of a button according to my invention and a piece of cloth to which it is attached. Fig. II, is a vertical section of my button with the parts ready to be secured together. Fig. III, is a vertical section of the button shank and wedge, the latter being in position to serve as a bodkin to penetrate the cloth and lead the shank into it; and Fig. IV, is a side elevation of a button shank.

5 represents the cloth, 6 the top ofthe button, 7 the collet or under side of the button,

S the neck of the button and 9 the flanged base thereof.

10 is the shank made like an eyelet with a broad base 11 perforated through its vertical length, and split along its upper end.

' 12 is a wedge made conical at one end, and about the same size midway as the body of the shank. At its lower end it is reduced in size to fit within the shank, and is provided With a shoulder 13 to rest on the top-thereof, whereby the wedge may serve as a bodkin to pene trate the cloth and lead the shank into it by the shank being pushed from the lower end. Fig. II shows the shank thus inserted into the cloth but the wedge has now been invertA ved and placed up in the button point down Serial No. 507.707. (No model.)

ward and if the button be now forced downward upon the shank the wedge will spread the upper end of the shank within the collet as shown in Fig. I, the wedge remaining in the button as a permanent key so that the shank cannot be removed by any amount of pulling in service. If it should be desired to remove the button from the cloth a nail or wire pressed up into the shank through its open lower side against the end of the wedge with a considerable force will loosen the wedge a little by springing the top of the button upward, and when it is so loosened the only force required to withdraw the shank is merely enough to straighten back its split end as it recedes through the neck 8. The body of the wedge should be as large as can be conveniently crowded through the said neck. The central cavity in the underside of the cap 6 is for the purpose of centering the base of the wedge 12, but this' cavity is not absolutely necessary to my invention. It will also be understood that in constructing the button head the top 6 and the collet 7 may be made either integral or in separate pieces, as also may be the neck 8 and the collet '7, in la manner well known to the construction of buttons. It will also be understood that this shank 10, is substantially an eyelet, yet the main service of my reversible wedge could be obtained in connection with a shank having a neck adapted to be spread thereby within the collet regardless of Vthe shape of the neck 8 and base 9 below the collet. where it is not desired to insert a driving key at the lower end of the shank for the purpose of loosening the wedge ,the shank may be closed at its lower end without departing from the spirit of my invention. The main characteristic of this invention is the reversible bodkin, wedge, or plug 12.

Having described my invention, what I believe to be new, and desire to secure by Let- It will also be understood that in cases roo 2. A button comprising a head, a shank, and In testimony whereof I affix my signature in an anvil; the anvil being a bodkin reversible presence of two witnesses. relative to the shank substantially as doserbed, whereb)7 the bodkin point is irst a JOHN V' PILCHER' 5 leader to penetrate the cloth ahead of the l/Vitnesses:

shank, then in its reverse position itis an au- J. L. CHAMBERLIN,

Vil to spread the shank within the button. GEO. II. COWELL. 

